Working Environment of External PhD Candidates
Duration: March–May 2026 | Status: Completed
Members
- Martin Rasmi Krippendorf (Leader), External PhD Candidate, HV
- Petronelle Gaarder Herbern, External PhD Candidate, SV
- Stefan Brenner, PhD Candidate, SAM
Purpose and mandate
Task Group 2 was set up to better understand the experiences of external PhD candidates at OsloMet, to identify challenges that affect their participation in doctoral education, and to propose measures that improve their inclusion and institutional support. External PhD candidates are enrolled at OsloMet but employed outside the university.
The group ran a survey of external PhD candidates with three open-ended questions on infrastructure and access, administrative support, and academic and social inclusion. The results were considered together with programme reports, quality reports and consultation responses about doctoral education.
Key observations
Four connected themes emerged:
- Infrastructure and access. Difficulty getting office space, computers, software, institutional systems and other practical resources.
- Administrative and digital positioning. Many structures are organised around employment status, so external candidates are often left out of the channels that provide information, access and support.
- Academic and social inclusion. Uneven access to seminars, research groups, social events and informal arenas, often depending on local practice and individual initiative.
- Expectations and conditions. External candidates meet the same academic requirements as employed candidates but participate under different organisational conditions.
Many candidates also reported positive experiences with supervisors, research groups and academic activities. Similar issues have been raised in programme reports and consultation responses, which suggests they are recurring rather than isolated.
Recommendations
The task group recommends that OsloMet RISE continues its dialogue with OsloMet leadership to:
- Clarify institutional responsibility for external PhD candidates.
- Review and improve access to systems, services and resources.
- Strengthen the inclusion of external candidates in academic environments.
- Ensure systematic and ongoing attention to the experiences of external PhD candidates.